Eye of the Storm
by jedimasterathena
Summary: AU where Zuko was never challenged to an Agni Kai, has no scar, and never left to capture the Avatar. Zuko is coming of age and his father has arranged a gift for him he is sure will turn the Fire Prince into the conqueror he was born to be. Of course it, or rather, SHE does change Zuko, but in a way no one could have foreseen. ZUTARA. Rating will change with added content.
1. Chapter 1

Just a reminder this is an alternate reality where Zuko was never challenged to an Agni Kai and has NO SCAR and NEVER LEFT TO CAPTURE THE AVATAR

* * *

Zuko awoke the same way he always had, as Agni peeked over the ocean and began to spread his light over the Fire Nation. As his eyes drifted open and his blood began to warm, Zuko stared up at the canopy of his bed and sighed. Today was not like other days. Today he turned seventeen; today the Fire Prince came of age.

A knock sounded at his door. Zuko ignored it. No doubt some servant was desperate to rouse him so that the day could begin. Before this evening's festivities, he had a final fitting, a meeting with some of the nobles, and a dance lesson which had been scheduled by his father as a last-minute attempt to make the prince presentable to the lords and more importantly the ladies who would be in attendance. Zuko sighed again and rolled in his bed sheets. It was not like him to sleep late or lounge and he hated lying around, but he could not bring himself to get out of bed and face the day.

The knock came again.

"Han!" Zuko growled at the manservant. "I will get up when I wish and would appreciate-"

His complaints were stopped by the soft, placid voice of his uncle.

"Nephew, it is unlike you to still be in bed. The sun is up! I am usually being awoken by the prodding of youth at this hour…. Perhaps the day's celebration keeps you preoccupied….how about a cup of tea then?"

Zuko's heart lightened.

"Coming, Uncle!" He threw back his sheets and put his feet on the floor. Knowing his uncle would be at his side made the day less daunting. Quickly, he dressed in a plain tunic and pants and splashed water on his face. When he pulled the towel away, he took a moment to stare back at his reflection. There was his face. The topknot. His unblemished, royal complexion. His amber eyes were not the familiar eyes he was used to. Today, however, they seemed more and more like those of the man who had given them to him. He shook himself out of his thoughts than hurriedly left his chambers to visit his uncle.

Even with his excited pace he did not make it to Iroh's rooms undisturbed.

"Good morning, Zu-zu." Zuko grimaced.

"Azula,"

Cat-like and predatory, she stood straight and left the wall she had been leaning on to stand by Zuko who instinctively took a step away from his sister as she placed a hand on her hip.

"Happy birthday," she said. Zuko could see something crafty in her eyes that he did not trust.

"Thank you," he said, waiting for her attack.

"Do you feel of age? Grown-up?" she asked, a wry grin on her lips.

"I uh feel the same." Zuko told her, sensing a trap and looking for a retreat.

"Oh. Well, I'm sure you'll finally feel like a man once the festivities are over."

"What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes, suspicious.

"Nothing of course," She turned away, waving a wand dismissingly at him, "I have just happened upon father's gift to you and I think once you see it as well, you will agree that it is certainly _life-changing._"

Zuko opened his mouth to question her further but she was already gone, leaving him feeling as played and confused as ever.

Nevertheless, he continued down the corridor, trying his best to push his sister from his thoughts until he reached the door to his uncle's rooms and knocked softly.

"Come in! Come in!"

Zuko entered to find his uncle sitting before his low tea table. Not yet dressed in his official Fire Nation reds, he wore soft green robes and the same pleased expression as always.

"Sit, Zuko. The tea is getting cold."

"You're a firebender uncle. I'm sure the Dragon of the West can heat his own tea."

Iroh grinned. "Yes, I can; but, I find my morning ritual of making morning tea to be just as worthwhile as the drink itself."

Zuko smiled as Iroh poured him a cup. Steam wafted through the air, and Zuko found that the tea was plenty hot. He sipped gratefully.

For a long while the two princes sat in silence, drinking tea and nibbling rice cakes, blissfully unaware of the bustling of a palace preparing for a ball just beyond the doors.

"Uncle," Zuko finally asked, his brows furrowing as he stared down at his cup, "do you know what my father got me for my birthday?"

"I do not. Why?"

"Well, Azula said she knows and that it'll be life changing."

"I can see how you find this troubling," said Iroh. "What Azula considers life-changing often involves suffering."

Zuko scowled, suddenly afraid.

"But," Iroh cleared his throat and set down is cup, "that is later. Now, I have a gift of my own."

With a grunt the old man stood, retrieved a silk-wrapped box. Zuko stood to assist.

"Uncle, thank you, but I wasn't expecting-"

"And what kind of uncle would I be if I had nothing to present my favorite nephew for his seventeenth birthday?"

Zuko grinned, taking the box, "Please, uncle. I'm your _only _nephew. Besides, you've given me so much already." He opened the box, which was heavy in his arms, and revealed a deep-red, cast-iron tea set.

"A tea set," Zuko gasped.

"Yes," said Iroh, pulling out one of the cups. "It was my gift to Lu Ten when he came of age. After…well, it's a shame for it to sit unused."

Always awkward and incapable of handling his emotions, Zuko stared down at the box in his hands. He remembered his cousin. All the memories he had of Lu Ten, in fact were from a life so different from the one he lived now. Had their family really once known love? Zuko could no longer tell, those times were so long ago. Iroh was now all he had left of those happy times. Now, he merely wrapped an arm around the old man.

"Thank you, Uncle."

* * *

That afternoon, Zuko stood on a stool and held his arms parallel to the floor. Under Han's watchful eye, a tailor busied himself with Zuko's formal robes. For the party tonight, he would have a whole new set and they would be nothing less but magnificent.

Zuko sighed, his breath puffing a strand of hair that had come loose from his topknot. Han coughed.

"Prince Zuko," he sighed as well, "I am aware of your aversions to tonight's gala, but as the heir to this nation, you shall have to get used to it." Han punctuated each of those final words and Zuko scowled hatefully at his new servant.

Han had been appointed by the Fire Lord with the charge of readying the unruly prince for the crown. To Zuko, it seemed that the manservant had found the task much more difficult than he had originally suspected. This thought on its own was pleasant enough to bring Zuko's frown to a blank stare.

The prince breathed, trying not to sigh. It seemed no one was ever happy with him, not since…memories of his childhood wafted back to him like the tide. Ember Island, playing with Azula and Lu Ten in the sand, the loving embrace of his mother's arms.

But all that was gone now. Lu Ten had been killed in the Seige of Ba Sing Se. His mother had disappeared. Azula had become wicked and cruel. Though the Fire Nation was winning the war and the light of its end could be seen at the end of this dark tunnel, Zuko felt as if he had already been defeated. He was simply tired of it all. He no longer wanted to play Azula's games or fall into the traps of his father and the nobles. This is why he had taken so warmly to his uncle. Iroh had no ruses other than tricking his naïve nephew into hearing the haikus he had composed. Even now, thinking of his uncle made him smile. Then a sharp prick nicked his shoulder.

"Hey!" he snarled at the tailor and he watched Han rub his eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Just a reminder this is an alternate reality where Zuko was never challenged to an Agni Kai and has NO SCAR and NEVER LEFT TO CAPTURE THE AVATAR

* * *

Katara knew when to keep her mouth shut. As she counted the Fire Nation soldiers guarding her, she knew to hold her tongue. She could not fight off the four guards. They had taken her water skin and she was the only one who seemed to be sweating enough in the tropical heat to have something to bend.

Besides, nobody could hear her scream from the dungeons of the Fire Palace. Not Sokka. Not Aang. She could only pray that her brother and the Avatar had made it safely from the Northern Water Tribe. She had not been so lucky.

Master Pakku had been defending the city and Zhao had slain the moon spirit La. Katara had desperately tried to heal the fish spirit, but her bending had not been strong enough. Zhao's soldiers had taken her captive and she had watched the rest of the battle from a ship making a run, full steam ahead, for the Fire Nation.

So, she sat, sweating in her skins, dehydrated and alone, afraid for what fate the Fire Lord had in store for her.

A door creaked open and a light shone into her cell. She looked up from where she was kneeling, hands tied behind her back. She stiffened and her eyes went wide as the Fire Lord strode to stand before the bars of her cell, hands calmly tucked into the sleeves of his robes.

"Ah, little waterbender of the South." He smiled cruelly. "I thought I had wiped away the last of your kind years ago. It seems," he kneeled before her and reached a hand through the bars to her chin, "it seems I was slightly less than thorough."

Katara pulled her head away and snarled, wishing she could send a shard of ice at this monster, slicing the pale skin of his throat for what he had done to her people, to her mother.

"For a master of the ice and snow, you do have a great fire in you." The Fire Lord smiled, pleased. "Of course to call you a master would be….exaggeration." He stood, looming over her. "I would have preferred to have the Avatar in my grasp, or the chief's son. They have true value." The Fire Lord sighed. "Now all I have is a waterbender who couldn't command a tear. Still, you will suit your purpose." And with that, he turned on his heel and strode towards the heavy door.

"Get her out of here," The Fire Lord commanded the guards. "Have her fed, bathed, and dressed. The ball is soon to begin." With a flick of his finger the guards swarmed on her. There was one at her arms behind her back, one to each side and the fourth poised with two fingers ready to block her chi should decide to put up a fight. Katara thought there was no need. She was too exhausted to fight and would go willingly wherever they would lead.

* * *

When they arrived at their first destination, Katara was beyond confused. She surveyed the room to find they were in a luxurious bath. Maidservants stood at the ready, waiting for their charge. Katara was released from her bonds and, knees weak, fell forward. When she managed to stand she rubbed her wrists and asked, "Where am I?"

No one offered an answer, but the guards quickly shuffled out of the room with a bow and when the door shut behind them, the bath kicked into gear. One woman was filling the large tub with scented oils and flower petals. Another woman kept the fire beneath it stoked.

Katara felt deft hands make quick work of her robes and bindings and soon she was naked before these servants who still would not answer her questions.

"Who are you? Where am I? Why am I here?"

The women did speak, but only to each other, prodding and ignoring the waterbender in their midst.

"Ugh," complained the one who now held her robes, "Furs?! How absolutely prehistoric. Zara, get her some silk!"

"It's going to take me all night to get the dirt from under her fingernails! And all these callouses!" Katara pulled her hands from this woman's grasp.

Another prodded at her belly. "She's too skinny. What will the Prince think of her?"

"You know young men," said the one apparently named Zara and the rest of the maids laughed.

Katara gave up on asking questions and wondered as to who this Prince was and worried as to what he would do with her. She let herself be pushed and pulled and primped as the maids scrubbed her down with brushes and pumice stones. When she felt her hair being taken from its braid and loops she could have cried. But Katara knew when to keep her mouth shut. She would not show these people weakness. So, she kept her eyes fixed on the bath, filled to the brim with water.

Finally, hair loose and skin red and raw from all the scrubbing Katara was allowed to sink into the bath. She sighed at the familiar comfort of being surrounded by her element. She knew better to use the bath for anything other than its comfort. How unwise she would have to be to attempt to use the water as a weapon. She knew that, even if she managed to escape the palace, she would still have the rest of Caldera City to face. A waterbender stood no chance in the capital of her enemy, this was the eye of the storm.

Katara sighed, sinking lower into the water and considering crying, when the sound of footsteps on the stone floor brought her fully awake and ready. She moved into a bending stance, startling the small maid who had come for her.

"Oh!" squeaked the Fire Nation girl who looked to be only a year younger than Katara. The waterbender let her hands fall and slid back into the water.

"I'm sorry," she said, feeling defeated.

"I've brought you clothes." The maid kneeled before the tub, setting down a towel, folded red silk, and a pair of golden slippers.

"Thank you," Katara emerged from the water and toweled off, noticing the way her wet skin smelled of flowers. The scrubbing had had its desired effect her dark skin was smoother than she ever remembered it being. She caught the maid's eyes. Katara understood that her complexion must seem new and exotic to the pale Fire Nation girl.

"My name is Lyza," said the maid, her chin held low. "Once you are dressed, you will follow me to the Prince's rooms. Food and warm tea will be waiting you."

"I don't understand." Katara slipped into the clothes provided for her. They were soft on her skin in a way she had never experienced before with her furs. So this was silk? Once she had on the loose pants that banded around her ankles and the bra she looked around for the rest of it, but that was apparently…all.

"I am under the strict orders of the Fire Lord to ensure that your stay in the palace is comfortable." She handed Katara the slippers which the water tribe girl thought strange with their pointy toes and a shawl.

"But why?!"

"It is not my place to say." Lyza ducked her chin even lower. "Now, please my lady, if you would allow me to fix your hair."

Katara sat before the servant girl confused and dazed. An hour ago she was shackled in the dungeons. Now she was pampered and had a servant. She swallowed hard.

Katara did not trust that her stay would be comfortable. Not one bit.


	3. Chapter 3

Zuko leaned against a pillar and watched the party continue around him. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. At least he had spoken to all of the nobles. Now, he only had to avoid the ladies who were pining for a dance with the scowling, enigmatic Fire Prince. He found them silly, falling over themselves for him, or rather for his throne.

"Of course," came a familiar voice behind him. "A party is thrown in your honor and all you can do is pout in the shadows."

"I am not _pouting_," Zuko defended.

"He says as he pouts."

Mai came to stand beside him, for a moment in nothing but companionable silence. Mai was Zuko's closest friend. They had spent their childhoods together, playing in the palace gardens with Azula. When they were old enough to realize this was the attempt of their families to push them into a romance that would ensure Mai the seat of Fire Lady, he had toyed with the idea. Today, Zuko still blushed at the thought of the awkward kiss they had shared one moonlit night in the courtyard. He considered himself lucky that their friendship had persevered longer than their quasi-love though he did expect that, when the time came, Zuko would default to choosing Mai for a wife. Whenever this thought appeared in his mind he pushed it away, not wanting to accept the reality that he would one day be Fire Lord.

Zuko was ever thankful for Mai. As children she had been his ally behind Azula's front lines and had often alerted him to her schemes when she felt so inclined. In their burgeoning adulthood, he appreciated her company more than he would ever be able to tell her.

"You're not going to ask me to dance, are you?" He asked.

"Not a chance," she said, her face as emotionless as always. Zuko chuckled and they continued to watch the merriment in silence.

"That'll be you some day." Mai nodded her head towards his father. Her voice was as bored as always, but he cringed nevertheless.

"Don't remind me." He growled.

Mai tugged lightly on his sleeve, her own way method of reassurance.

"Watch out," she said, "Here he comes."

The Fire Lord and one of the nobles approached the corner where they stood. Necessary introductions were made.

"How glorious to make your acquaintance on this of all days," said the noble, bowing to Zuko, "I humbly await the day when I shall serve you as my Fire Lord."

"Thank you, Lord Tang."

"And you, Lady Mai, you are beyond elegance this evening."

"Thank you, Lord Tang." Mai bowed and Zuko could see in her eyes her boredom.

"Lord Tang," spoke Zuko's Father, "perhaps Lady Mai would feel inclined to offer you the next dance while I take an audience with my son."

"Of course, my lord," Mai and Tang replied in unison and departed for the dance floor.

Zuko swallowed in fear and met Mai's eyes one last time as she looked over her shoulder.

"Zuko," said Ozai, "Walk with me."

* * *

"Here we are," said Lyza when their small party had reached the sitting room of the Prince's chambers. Katara noticed their armed escort waited at the door.

"Is this…?" She turned back to take in the lavish furnishings of the room. The furniture was was dark wood, polished until it shined like metal, and gleaming gold and crimson silk.

"Yes," Lyza confirmed, "The Fire Prince's personal chambers."

Katara gawked as the maid fluttered awkwardly about the room, adjusting curtains and fluffing cushions.

"Here we are!" she finally huffed as another serving girl brought in a tray. Lyza took it and brought it, rattling, to a low table from which she beckoned Katara to join her.

Katara did as she was told. As she kneeled, she noticed the tray contained a steaming pot of tea and a bowl of rice. Her stomach gurgled and she struggled to remember the last time she had eaten.

"Please," said Lyza, "eat."

She grabbed the bowl of rice, for once not caring for manners and, when Lyza offered her a tea cup, took that is well.

"I will be going now," the maid said as she stood to leave, Katara noticed the blush on her pale cheeks had grown even redder. "I will be back to collect you…well, um…after."

Katara had so many questions, but after washing down a mouthful of rice, could only thank the girl for her kindness.

"It is my pleasure to serve you." Lyza bowed and turned to leave, but stopped, a hand slightly raised as if she had forgotten something. "Also, I feel it is my responsibility to inform you that it would be unwise for you to use your bending to take leave of us. I have been told that there are guards at checkpoints throughout the castle, sentinels patrolling the perimeter, and maximum security throughout Caldera City." With another curt bow, Lyza was gone, leaving Katara alone.

Though Lyza's final speech had seemed remorseful and rehearsed, the waterbender understood. Swirling a bit of tea around in her palm, she understood she would not be leaving unless it was of the Fire Lord's accord. She looked around the room and sighed. She was a prisoner, albeit a pampered one, but a prisoner nonetheless.

Feeling suddenly fatigued, Katara quickly finished her rice and tea. Standing, she meandered through the rooms, noticing a private bath and office. Then there was a private bath that led into another room. She did not stop to inspect this one. Instead she rushed to the balcony, placed her hands on the parapet and stared longingly up at the moon.

The wind billowed the curtains and her loose hair so that it tickled her cheek, but she did not take her eyes off of the silver dish in the sky. She had not seen the moon since it had been killed in the Northern Water Tribe. She smiled, knowing Sokka and Aang had been successful. She did not know what state she would find them in should she ever escape the Fire Palace, but at least they had managed to return the moon spirit.

A tear slipped down her cheek and with her bending she took the droplet from her face and let in hover before her.

* * *

As Zuko walked the halls back to his chambers, he wondered why no one could speak plainly to him. Azula, his uncle, his father, all of the nobles, they all gave him some kind of riddle to figure out and it frustrated him. Wheels grinding in his head, he turned a corner and recalled the conversation he had had with his father.

"One day," Ozai had begun, "I will be gone and the throne will go to my first born son." His father had said this not out of love or pride, but out of custom only.

"Your word will rule the Fire Nation," continued the Fire Lord, "and, if the war continues on its current path, the world. You, Zuko, are my heir, a son of suns and you will be the sun to your people." At least, Zuko grunted, he had understood that metaphor. Of course, when his father died, he would be Fire Lord.

"You must be like the sun, Zuko," Ozai had said, and Zuko could see the small flame in his father's eyes he had come to associate with power and dominance. "Without you, your people would freeze." Zuko had simply nodded his head. "You must learn to dominate, Zuko. You do not have this in your nature as Azula does. This is why, on the eve of your seventeenth year, I have given you the moon."

_Given me the moon?_ Zuko fumed as he threw open the doors to his chambers. What in Agni's name was that supposed to mean?

The angry prince shooed away all of his servants and began undressing. He left his formal robes on the floor. He knew Han would chastise him later for the wrinkles, but Zuko didn't care. He slipped into sleep pants, not bothering with a shirt and paced.

For his birthday his father had given him the moon. He had no inkling as to what he was supposed to do with that information. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he wished his family would simply refrain from giving him gifts. At this thought, his eyes flitted to the table where he had left the tea set his uncle had given him. He stopped pacing and picked up one of the ornate cups. Okay, so perhaps not his _whole_ family.

Still, he felt as if his father's words had been some kind of test. That now that he was considered a man, he would have to prove himself. He sat on a sofa and tried to think.

"Grrrah!" Zuko gave up after a few agonizing moments.

Well, there was little he could do tonight. He headed for his bedroom, resolving to ask his uncle the next morning. With a sigh, he lit the candles in his room.

"What?" came a groggy voice from the bed.

Zuko, spun, dropping into a bending stance.

Silhouetted in the moon light a woman sat up from where she lay on his bed. When she caught sight of him, her eyes widened in fear. They were the bluest eyes Zuko had ever seen.


End file.
